The beverage industry is a multi-billion dollar business with sales around the world. The most popular non-alcoholic beverages have been water, tea, and coffee. But, increased consumer demands for more specialized drinks have caused the industry to grow in new directions in the past several years. In addition to a variety of soft drinks and fruit-flavored drinks, many other types of beverages, such as those for sport, health, energy, and diet needs, have all experienced an increase in popularity. Many of these drinks contain ingredients such as electrolytes, carbohydrates, salts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, stimulants, diet supplements, neutraceuticals, and other ingredients that are added to the beverage to increase or enhance physical or mental response and performance. Some ingredients are added simply to increase consumer enjoyment of a beverage, such as flavorings, colorings, carbonation, and/or sweetness.
There are also ingredients and mixtures that are available as secondary components in powder, granular, gel, liquid or other forms that can be mixed with water or another beverage. This allows the consumer to carry a smaller container, envelope, or other compact package and mix the contents with water or other beverage of choice. In some cases, this is preferred because not all secondary components, for various reasons, are effective or palatable if pre-mixed. For example, whey powder is a common dietary supplement often utilized as a secondary component. While it mixes well with water and most beverages, it does not stay in solution very well and usually settles out of the beverage. Consumers can shake the container to redistribute the whey powder in the water or beverage, but this often produces an incompletely dissolved or lumpy consistency. Some secondary components may also become less effective if maintained for a length of time in a liquid solution. Also, some vitamins and neutraceuticals can lose effectiveness over time when exposed to light, which can happen with many beverages stored in clear containers.
Many of the beverages that are sold today are stored, shipped and consumed from single-use disposable containers, such as bottles, cans, and cartons. Disposable containers are convenient, recyclable, sanitary, and are available in a variety of sizes. However, the typical single-use container opening is sized to facilitate drinking and is usually not large enough to conveniently introduce secondary components into the container. Further, single-use beverage containers are often filled to a maximum capacity that limits the amount of secondary component that can be added to the bottle and adequately mixed with the contents. Yet another consideration is the fact that the consumer must carry a separate beverage container or obtain a beverage in which to mix a secondary component.
There is a need for a bottle or container that can conveniently store or hold a secondary component separate and protected from a liquid or other substance within the container, but which allows a secondary component to be easily added and mixed with the substance in the container at the desired time. Such a container should maintain convenience to the consumer, adequately protect the secondary component from contact with the container substance, light, or other harmful exposure, until mixing is desired, and should be easy to use by all consumers. Ideally, the container would be recyclable and useful with a variety of substances, including beverages, and compatible secondary components.